Railway workers strike in the Randstad on Friday

The largest urban agglomeration of the Netherlands, including Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht-Ranstad, is expected to strike on September 9 by NS railway workers. The reason for the strike is that railway unions are demanding better working conditions and higher wages. Earlier, NS reported that union demands call for a 20% payroll increase, which is not possible given the difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the trade unions FNV, CNV and VVMC are not going to give up and demand the signing of a new collective agreement that takes into account their requirements. So far, railroad strikes have paralyzed the Netherlands by region. On Friday, NS employees will stop working in the Northwest and West regions, the East, South and North regions will strike on Tuesday, September 13th, and the Central Region on Thursday, September 15th. 

Trains from other carriers such as Arriva, Breng and Blauwnet, as well as some international trains, are still running. However, the unions are threatening a general NS strike that will paralyze the entire country if their demands are not met.